Improvement in barrel-heads



L1. RuBlNysoN.- Barrel-Headsf Patented April 14, 1874.-

` To all whom it may concern:

FFICE.

JOHN J. ROBINSON, OF BELLEVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT `IN BARREL-HEADS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,792, dated April 14, 1874; application led February 7, 1874.

Be it known thatd, JOHN J. ROBINSON, of Belleville, in 4the county of Essex and State of Nenr Jersey, have invented certain Improve- ,ments in Barrel-Heads, of which the following is a specification:

Wooden vessels are in many respects preferable for holding provisions; but they are subject to the objections of wasting considerablespace on account of the manner in which it has hitherto been customaryto arrange their bottoms at a considerable distance above the ends of their staves; and, also, when thus secured, being devoid of any support, save what they have in the croze in their staves, theya will not admit of h avin g their contents rammed into them, as it isoften .necessary to do with butter and lard during cold Winter Weather.

This invention consists in a novel construction of -a pail, keg, or caskdiaving its head formed with a flange which fits into the croze, and a projection above the flange for bearing upon or overl appin g the top edge of the staves.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is acentral vertical section of a butter-pail, made in accordance With this invention; and Fig. 2 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the mode of tting the bottom and headin place. y

The body of the pail, as usual, is composed of a series of staves, A A, held together by hoops H H. It is furnished at opposite ends withlugs or bearin gs a a, into which the ends of a bail, B, hook, 'and are thereby fastened to the pail. Thebottom of the pail has a flange or rim, f, near its upper face to fit the croze e in the staves A A, and extends downward flush with, or it may be slightly beyond, the ends of the staves. The croze e is made considerably nearer the ends of the staves than usual, so thatlnore space is obtained Within the pail than formerly. Besides this, the bot- `tom is afforded a solid support Whenever set down, and therefore the butter, lard, or other provisions of like character, that become hard in cold Weather, may be rammed intoplace Without any danger of breaking or injuring the bottoni of the pail, as hitherto there has been great liability of doin g. This feature is of great value, as it obviates all the expense in curred from the breakage of the part-s in this Operation of ramming in the contents, and besides affords additional space inside of it with the same length of stave, and therefore causes the pail to occupy less space. The head D of the pail has at its lower edge a'flange, g, which fits into the croze in the upper part of the staves AA, and at the upper edge has another flange, el, that laps over the tops of the staves, as may be seen in the drawing. This upper flange improves the joint, but this is not themain object of it. It is designed to afford convenient provision for inserting a knife or like instrument under it to withdraw it from the pail.

Vvllien the head .is fitted into the pail in the ordinary Way it is difficult to insert a knife under it to remove it from the pail, and the staves have to be forced farther apart to allow this. When the head is inserted in place, the upper hook is driven down to tighten the staves around it. The head thus made and fitted in place affords to the pail a flush top,

and gives the pail a greater capacit-y than an ordinary one.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isam The head D, having the flange g ittiii'g into a groove in the staves of the vessel, and a flange, d, overlapping the top edges of the staves, constructed and combined substantially in the manner and for the purpose specied.

JOHN J. ROBINSON.

Witnesses: i

MICHAEL RYAN, Y VERNON H. HARnIs. 

